Research Guides: Museum Studies: Background Information

Background Information

Encyclopedias and the articles in Annual Reviews are excellent starting points to learn about a topic or theory and to find lists of articles and books on your topics. Even if you think you know a lot about your topic, there are likely some useful sources listed in these items to help your research progress.

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to Grove Art Online, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, The Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Oxford Companion to Western Art.

Dictionarium Museologicum by ICOM-CIDOC Working Group on Terminology
Call Number: AM3 .D5 1986 (AAA Library)
Publication Date: 1986
A comprehensive survey of contemporary thinking in biological, social and cultural anthropology and establishes the interconnections between these three fields.
A Companion to Museum Studies by Sharon MacDonald (ed.)
Publication Date: 2006
A Companion to Museum Studies captures the multidisciplinary approach to the study of the development, roles, and significance of museums in contemporary society. Collects first-rate original essays by leading figures from a range of disciplines and theoretical stances, including anthropology, art history, history, literature, sociology, cultural studies, and museum studies. Covers traditional subjects, such as space, display, buildings, objects and collecting, and more contemporary challenges such as visiting, commerce, community and experimental exhibition forms.

CAMEO: Conservation & Art Materials Encyclopedia Online
CAMEO is a searchable information resource developed by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology by Claire Smith (ed.)
Publication Date: 2014
A comprehensive and systematic coverage of archaeology that is unprecedented, not only in terms of the use of multi-media, but also in terms of content. It encompasses the breadth of the subject along with key aspects that are tapped from other disciplines. It includes all time periods and regions of the world and all stages of human development.
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology by Alan Barnard (ed.) and Jonathan Spencer (ed.)
Publication Date: 2011
This encyclopedia provides description and analysis of the terms, concepts and issues of social and cultural anthropology.

Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Language and subject dictionaries and reference works
Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window
Literature reviews in the biomedical/life sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences

We have access to many additional encyclopedias both online and in print, so be sure to also search the library catalog for additional resources. The above are just a few options with very broad coverage by topic - but we also have more focused options such as encyclopedias of food, of masculinity, of fashion, of lgbtqqia topics, and more.